Taiwan shuts down as Typhoon Megi strikes

Update:
September, 27/2016 - 11:00

|

TAIPEI — Taiwan went into shutdown on Tuesday as the island faces its third typhoon in two weeks, with thousands evacuated, schools and offices closed across the island and hundreds of flights disrupted.

Typhoon Megi is expected to make landfall in eastern Taiwan later on Tuesday but is already bringing widespread violent winds and torrential rain as it nears the island.

More than 5,000 people have been evacuated from their homes and around 2,000 are in shelters, according to the CentralEmergencyOperationCenter.

About 36,000 households have lost power due to the typhoon so far.

A total of 575 international and domestic flights were cancelled as of Tuesday morning, and 109 delayed. Most trains were also halted.